Collaborative Arts is a non-traditional, interdisciplinary performing arts program focused on the creation of new and original work in various artistic mediums. Our most successful students push themselves beyond the confines of specific artistic areas – including those they may be less familiar with – in order to grow dynamically as versatile artists of the future. Our first-year core curriculum explores performance, movement, visual art, filmmaking, emerging media and technology, acting, music production, fabrication, playwriting, screenwriting, and art theory. Following the first year, students take expanded coursework in all areas, further blurring the lines between disciplines. You are not expected to enter our program proficient in every area, but you will be expected to passionately engage with all of them.
You must first complete the Common Application with the NYU Supplement. Please refer to NYU Undergraduate Admissions for more information about applying to NYU. Once you submit the Common Application successfully, you will receive an email confirmation from NYU within 2-3 business days with a link to access your applicant portal where you can submit your Creative Portfolio.
There are four (4) required components for the 2024-2025 Collaborative Arts Creative Portfolio. You must upload all four (4) components to your NYU Applicant Portal by the deadlines listed below in order to be considered for admission. Incomplete portfolios will not be considered.
Please provide a written statement (400 words max) about why you are choosing an interdisciplinary arts degree. Why pursue Collaborative Arts as opposed to a discipline-specific course of study? What excites you about joining a diverse artistic community that values play, experimentation and creative invention? Please cite examples from your artistic work, art and artists you admire, and/or unique hobbies that inform your work.
Using your phone or laptop, record a simple 1-2 minute selfie video that shows and tells us who you are as an artist. We are not looking for elaborate, polished, or heavily-edited videos. Tell us how you hope to grow as a multi-disciplinary artist and what you hope to bring to the Collaborative Arts community. Use this video to show and tell us things about yourself that we won’t see anywhere else in your application.
While Collaborative Arts welcomes creators from all disciplines and backgrounds, we are built on a foundation of performance: you will be required to engage in multiple performance courses throughout the program. Please submit examples of work that best represent you as a performer, making sure that we can see and/or hear you clearly. If you are showing a collaborative project, you must be the primary contributor or creator. Please provide a title and short description for each submission.
Examples may include, but are not limited to: a narrative monologue, a movement piece, a musical experiment, stand-up or sketch comedy, or any other performative work (1-3 videos, not to exceed 5 min total).
We are interested in everything that makes you a creative maker and thinker. In addition to your performance submission, please submit examples of your original work that best represents your talent and your passions in at least TWO of the following areas. Please provide a title and short description for each submission.
Examples may include, but are not limited to:
Visual: Photography, Drawings, Sculptures, Painting, Mixed-Media (5-10 images)
Video: Film, Animation, Experimental (2-3 videos, 5 min total)
Music: Original Songs, Compositions (2-3 recordings, 5 min total)
Writing: Stage Play, Screenplay (5-10 pages)
Design: Website, Games, Interactive (website links, screenshots)
Emerging: Technology, Digital Art, 3D Fabrication, New-Media
The below application deadlines are for both the Common Application AND the Creative Portfolio. You will receive a link to upload your Creative Portfolio only after your Common Application has been received by NYU. To ensure proper processing time, we strongly recommend that you submit your Common Application at least two weeks before the posted deadline.
| APPLICATION TYPE | APPLICATION & PORTFOLIO DEADLINE | FINANCIAL AID DEADLINE | NOTIFICATION |
| Early Decision 1* | November 1 | November 15 | December 15 |
| Early Decision 2* | January 1 | January 15 | February 15 |
| Regular Decision | January 5 | February 15 | April 1 |
| Internal Transfer | March 1 | April 1 | May |
| External Transfer | April 1 | April 1 | May |
*If NYU Collaborative Arts is your first choice program for your college experience, applying Early Decision I or II lets us know that. If this is where you want to spend the next 4 years, we encourage you to apply Early Decision!
If you have questions about what and how to submit, contact Collaborative Arts directly at tisch.collabarts@nyu.edu.